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Let's dive into some summertime stories

Posted: June 26, 2011 - 12:22am

Savannah

LOW TIDE RISING

Lucy Cobb

We found a metered parking place somewhere between Sixth and Tenth, beach side of Butler Avenue on Tybee Island. Toting sand chairs, towels, cooler and with the two excited girls, we trudged over the dunes to the beach.

It wasn't crowded at all, and a delicious breeze from the ocean boded a perfect morning. So my cousin Alice and I picked a spot, passed around the sunscreen and cautions to the girls to stay within eye-shot, and settled down for a good visit. The girls - our granddaughters - were 12 and 13, both water rats and fearless.

With a watchful eye on the pair we passed an hour or so chatting away when the twosome, as the incoming tide approached our toes, emerged from the surf. They weren't our girls.

Another young cousin (he was 5) wanted badly to play in the river with the older children. His father finally relented and handed the boy a life vest to be worn at all times, no exceptions.

The end of summer was near and the boy told his dad that he could now swim, which he proved by jumping in and, stroking strongly, swimming to the next dock over and back. Convinced, Dad picked up the life vest and tossed the thing into the river. It promptly sank.

• • •

Would you believe bowling balls float? Several years ago Carolyn and I were swimming along when she spied a round object bobbing in the marsh. Curious, she made her way over to investigate. Non-river stuff is anathema to us. We're constantly retrieving alien jetsam to dispose of properly. And, yes, these ladies still indulge in the joy of skinny-dipping. At any rate, with pushing and pulling, the thing was gotten to the dock. With its three holes it was clear that indeed it was a bowling ball. So how on earth did it get into the Maye? This remains a mystery, but the "decorative" ball is still in her garden as proof that it happened.

• • •

My baby brother's Moss Creek friend had decided that the next morning he would scrape the gunge from his boat's hull. He enlisted a friend who would stand guard during this work. Moss Creek runs off of Mackays Creek, and the presence of alligators was not unknown. Next morning the designated guard overslept, so the guy persuaded his wife to sit onboard armed with a stick to bang on the side should a gator show. The whole operation proceeded smoothly, and when the scraper in his scuba gear surfaced, his wife was still there, peacefully snoozing.

• • •

The midyear solstice occurred Tuesday, marking the longest day of the year and the official start of summer. Us "binyeahs" know that the Lowcountry summer began on the 10th of May. The "why" of this may make a future column, but it is a fact.

• • •

Oh yes, back to our girls. Liz graduated from Catholic U., summa cum laude, in pre-med this May and Meaghan finished her sophomore year at Georgetown University with first honors (a cut above dean's list). The grandmothers just smile.

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